


Less of a mistake, more of a miscalculation

by Thei



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: (although no one really knows yet), (definitely), (kinda), (not necessarily about billy but ...), Established Relationship, Kidnapping, M/M, Misunderstandings, billy has always been hot, but in this fic he's getting hotter, but it's because they care, pun intended, the kids are ruthless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-11 02:48:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18421257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thei/pseuds/Thei
Summary: “Guys, I think that Billy Hargrove might be possessed.”In which Billy Hargrove is suddenly acting all NICE, which leads the Party to the logical conclusion that he is being possessed. And it's their duty to do something about it, especially since he has started hanging around Steve lately.





	Less of a mistake, more of a miscalculation

**Author's Note:**

> Unapologetically unbeta'd!
> 
> (Also please note that you're not supposed to stay in a sauna for this long. It is NOT good for you, and can have negative effects on your health.)

“Guys, I think that Billy Hargrove might be possessed.”

Lucas had barely reached the bottom of the stairs in the Wheeler's basement before he dropped that bomb, and as expected, the rest of the room's occupants stared at him, open-mouthed, for a second before everyone started talking at once.

“What do you mean?”

“Why, what did he do?”

“I _knew_ it!”

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Lucas shook his head and held up his hands to ward off the questions. “No, he didn't hurt me. He _offered me a ride_!”

“He–“ Dustin started, and then screwed his face up in incomprehension. “He _what_?”

“In the _Camaro_?” Max asked, incredulous.

“Yes! My bike had a flat tire so I was walking with it, and he drove up and offered me a ride!”

“And you _got in the car_?!” Mike bellowed.

Lucas scowled. “Of course not, I'm not _stupid_ , Mike! I took my bike and ran like hell through Mr Lincoln's yard.”

The others nodded. That had obviously been the only sensible thing to do.

“And he didn't ... he didn't try to go after you?” Will asked. He was the only one of them who hadn't had much personal experience with Billy Hargrove – but he had heard the stories.

“No”, Lucas said before leaning forward to really drive his point home. “And he called me by my _name_! My _first_ name!”

They considered this in silence for a second.

“It was probably just a trick”, Dustin decided. “To make you trust him or something. He would probably have murdered you if you'd gotten in the car.” He clapped Lucas on the shoulder. “Good thing you didn't.”

He glanced over at Max, as if to gouge her reaction. It _was_ her sort-of brother they were talking about, after all. She didn't look fully convinced about the murder theory, but she didn't outright disagree, either.

“Okay, new rule”, Mike said and clapped his hands together. “No one goes anywhere alone for a while. We move in pairs.”

“Uh, excuse me?" Max said, eyebrows raised pointedly. "He's gonna pick me up later, you know. It's not like I can just casually bring one of you guys with me in the car!”

“I was _obviously_ talking about the rest of us”, Mike sighed, rolling his eyes. “You're probably safe. If he wanted to kill _you_ , he'd have done it already.”

“Gee, thanks.”

***

A few days later, the party were at the arcade. Despite it being summer, it was a rainy day, perfect for spending inside in front of various games. Most of them had been given money so they could buy something to snack on – probably to keep them from making a mess in whatever house they'd otherwise decide to have lunch at – and it was late afternoon before they were low enough on money and energy to have gathered around a table with what was left of their snacks.

Steve showed up around this time, after he'd finished his shift at Scoops, since he had promised to drive Dustin and Will home. He was still wearing his uniform, which was a cause of constant amusement with the kids.

“Stop laughing, you brats, at least I'm making my own money”, he grumbled, which – considering their own current lack of funds – shut them up.

Dustin engaged Steve in a discussion about the pros and cons of working in an ice-cream shop, in a transparent attempt to make Steve let them stay a while longer. Thankfully, Steve didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave, especially when someone (Will) snuck him a bag of chips.

Their hopes of spending another hour at the arcade were crushed, though, when the door opened and Billy's silhouette appeared in the doorway, all lit up from the back like a movie villain. Lucas sighed, Mike glared, and Max groaned silently before she started looking for her jacket – knowing from experience that any arguing would be futile. El held the jacket out to her with a little smile, which Max returned.

“I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?” she said, eyebrows raised.

By then, Billy had come up to them and before anyone had time to answer, he fixed Max with a look. “Are you in a hurry, Maxine?”

Max frowned. “No?”

Billy glanced over at the booth where Steve and Dustin were sitting. “Mind hanging around for a while longer? I have to talk to Harrington about something.”

Max was gaping – barely remembering to nod – and she wasn't the only one. Billy Hargrove _asking_ something instead of just demanding it was unheard of. They all looked after him when he stalked toward the booth where Steve was sitting. Dustin threw him a dirty look when he showed up, but Billy ignored him completely and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Half a minute later, Dustin joined his friends. He had a puzzled look on his face.

“What are they saying?” Lucas asked.

“They're just ... talking”, Dustin said, looking annoyed.

“About what?”

“Their jobs.”

They all turned toward the booth for a quick look. It certainly didn't _look_ as if they were trading insults at all, or threats. There were no indications whatsoever of an impending fist fight, which … was a first, honestly, for the two of them.

“Weird”, Max muttered and looked thoughtful. “Hang on, let me try something.”

She went over to the table, and the rest of them watched her while trying to pretend they _weren't_. At one point, Billy turned to glare at them, and they all turned their backs and stared at the screen they were currently standing around, pretending to be engrossed in the game (which wasn’t even on).

A short while later, Max came back. She had a dazed look on her face, and her mouth was half-open.

“What happened?” Lucas asked, a little worriedly.

She turned to him and furrowed her brows. “I think you're right, Lucas.”

“About what?”

“About Billy being possessed.”

Dustin and Mike drew in sharp breaths, and Will and El looked wary.

“Why? What did he do?”

She held out her hand. “Well, I told him that I was ready to go.” Opening her hand, she revealed a couple of crumpled bills. “And he gave me _money_ , and told me to 'go have fun with my friends'.”

She let that sink in, and in the silence that followed they all surreptitiously glanced at the booth where Billy was sitting, speaking with Steve and gesturing with one hand. Not looking like he wanted to fight at all.

“Okay”, Mike said, seriously. “Party meeting, _right now_.”

***

If Billy Hargrove _was_ indeed possessed, they needed proof. They couldn’t do anything based on hunches, no matter how strong those hunches were.

So they decided to – scientifically – 'watch their subject in its natural habitat, and observe how he interacts with others in familiar surroundings'. Dustin's words.

Max scoffed at that, though. “I’m pretty sure his 'natural habitat' is getting drunk at parties and flirt with random girls, and a) we can’t watch him at parties because no one would let us in and b) I do _not_ want to watch him flirt with more girls.” She shuddered and made a face. “It’s gross.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “I meant that we should watch him at work! At the pool! We’ll observe how he acts around other people, and see if he does anything suspicious.”

“And this has nothing to do with today being warm and sunny and you wanting to go to the pool?” Max said, raising an knowing eyebrow.

“No”, Dustin said. “I was thinking that he can’t very well try to kill us at his job, or he’d probably get fired. Besides, Steve has a pool, and we could go there if we really wanted to.”

“Only Steve said that we can’t use it if he’s not there, and he’s working at Scoops today.”

Dustin threw his hands up. “So we’ll get to _swim_ a little during our research trip, jeez! Is it a crime to cool off on a warm day now?”

It wasn’t, and the others reluctantly agreed to spend a couple of hours Billy-watching at the public pool. It wasn’t like it was a hardship, really – it _was_ a nice day.

The whole thing started off weird – like, _really_ weird – by Billy not only acknowledging them, but _actively seeking them out_. They had barely gotten there when he materialized in front of them, tilting his chin back and watching them in silence for a couple of seconds (during which several of them started to sweat, and not because of the heat). Eventually he spoke.

“Are you guys here to … swim?”

Max scoffed, rolling her eyes. “No, we’re here to skateboard, obviou– _Ow_ , Dustin!” Because Dustin had elbowed her in the side, hard. At that, Billy’s eyes narrowed as he zeroed in on him, and Dustin gave a nervous little laugh.

“Yup, that’s us! Swimming. It’s such a warm day. We should go. Swim. We should go swim.” He pulled at Max's hand and gave El a little push so she’d start moving. “Come on guys!”

They left Billy behind, staring after them with a frown on his face, and only when they were on the opposite side of the pool did Max yank her arm from Dustin’s grasp so she could punch him in the shoulder.

“What the hell was that?!”

“I’m sorry, I panicked! _You_ may be used to being sarcastic to him, but you’re like the _only_ person he’s not going to kill for it, and I don’t want to die today, okay?”

“You’re being stupid. He’s not gonna kill you _at work_.”

Dustin squinted at her. “So you _do_ admit that he might kill me somewhere else?”

“Well, I mean.” She shrugged. “It’s Billy, so …”

“That does _not_ make me feel better.”

“Guys?” Mike interrupted. “We should maybe focus on the task at hand?”

The task at hand was to keep an eye on Billy, so that was what they did for the next half-hour. They watched him from afar, and Will took notes. Now and then, one of them walked around the pool to listen in on whatever conversation Billy was having with an assortment of different people (his dark-haired colleague, a plump mother with a screaming child, and an old man with a moustache so bushy it was basically a beard – just to name a few). None of it yielded any useful information; Billy was apparently only doing his job, and from what they could tell he just sounded bored and somewhat exasperated (especially around the screaming child). They weren’t actually sure if that was in character for him or not, but they dutifully wrote it down, all the same.

Then, around the half-hour mark, Billy made his way over to them again. Lucas was the first to notice, and he slapped Dustin on the arm to get his attention. Dustin looked up and panicked. He yanked Will’s notebook from his hands and shoved it under a towel, so when Billy reached them they were all just sitting around, trying to look inconspicuous and probably failing.

Billy frowned, but then cleared his throat.

“I thought you were here to swim?” he said. “None of you have even been close to the water yet.”

Lucas opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Dustin blurted out; “We ate before we came here!” As the others turned their heads and stared at him, he continued, somewhat feebly, “Everyone knows that you’re not supposed to swim for an hour after eating … Because … you can get a … cramp.”

Billy snorted. The party stared at him. He ignored their stares and leaned in closer. “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret; that's a myth.”

They watched him with varying degrees of suspicion and doubt; not only of what he was saying, but of the fact that he was talking to them at all.

“Yeah”, he continued conspiratorially. “It’s just something that parents tell their kids so they’ll keep out of the water for an hour, so they won’t have to check on them all the time.”

He was actually _smiling_ at them, which shocked them enough that no one spoke for a couple of seconds. Billy’s smile dimmed a little, and he ran his tongue over his teeth. “But, you know, if you’re still worried about it, there are lifeguards here for a reason.”

Dustin couldn’t help himself. He snorted. “You mean _you_?”

Billy’s jaw clenched, but he didn't snap. Instead, his hand went to the back of his neck and he ran his fingers through his hair, before he seemed to realize what he was doing and lowered it.

“Yeah”, he said. “If you drown, I’ll totally pull you up.”

Dustin gaped.

“Wouldn’t want you to die on my shift, after all”, Billy finished lamely. “It’d make me look bad.”

An awkward silence followed, during which everyone kept throwing furtive glances at each other. Billy cleared his throat and straightened up.

“Anyway. I’m gonna head back to … work. Uhm. Don’t run around the pool, or whatever. And, you know. Enjoy yourselves.” Then, he abruptly turned around and walked away, shoulders tense.

The party was silent for a long time. Then Mike said, “’Enjoy yourselves’?! And he want us to trust _him_ to pull us up if we’re drowning!? That was _way_ weird.”

Dustin exhaled loudly and folded like a house of cards. “Oh thank God, I’m not the only one to see it. He’s _totally_ possessed, right? Right, guys?”

El and Will looked doubtful, but Max was nodding along, still staring after Billy’s retreating form. Lucas scowled at Dustin and commented, “Well, if you remember, I’ve been saying that this whole time. But I’m glad you’ve finally seen reason.”

“The question is, what do we do about it?”

Mike, ever the one to take charge, gave a sharp nod. “We’ll need to stop him, of course.”

Will piped up, hesitantly. “Uhm, we should make absolutely sure, first. When I was … When I … You know, well ... It didn’t like heat?”

They turned as one to look at Billy, who was standing by the edge of the pool, overlooking a bunch of children playing in the shallow end. His shades was on, his skin was tanned, and he was half-turned toward the sun.

“He looks pretty comfortable in the heat, though.”

“Are you kidding me? He looked _so_ uncomfortable just now, when he was here! Didn’t you see?”

Max looked thoughtful, and was staring at something a little to the left of where Billy was standing. “Guys?”

“Yeah?”

She didn’t say anything else, just pointed. On the other side of the pool, on the building behind it, was a sign stuck to the brick wall. A sign that said “Sauna”.

“Oh _yeah_ … That could work.”

***

“Maybe he’s just trying to be nice?” Will said while glancing over at where Billy was leaning on the counter at Scoops Ahoy, smirking at Steve, who was rolling his eyes at whatever he was saying.

Lucas huffed. “Billy Hargrove, trying to be _nice_? That makes _no sense at all_. No, he’s definitely possessed.”

They were at the mall, because they had decided that they should probably let Steve know of their suspicions. Mike had, not surprisingly, been reluctant to include Steve in their plans, but it was five against one, so he had been voted down. He was extra grumpy today, because El wasn’t with them – Hopper had brought her along for something or other – so he had spent the last ten minutes moping, with his arms crossed over his chest and glaring at the ice-cream shop across the food court.

Because there had been an unexpected and unwelcome development; Billy had already been there when they showed up. Moreover, he hadn’t just bought an ice-cream and moved on – and thus letting them speak to Steve without him overhearing – he had just been hanging around, talking to Steve between customers and generally being a pest.

“He hasn’t even bought any ice-cream!” Dustin muttered darkly when he had finished his own ice-cream (they had had to buy some as an excuse as to why they were there, and even though Steve gave them a discount – because he was awesome like that – it had made a dent in their spending-money for the day). “And now he’s scaring all the customers away.” Which was actually not true; there was a group of four girls around a table who kept making eyes at Billy, and who would probably not otherwise have visited Scoops Ahoy on that day. Dustin ignored it. “He’s bad for business. I don’t understand why Steve isn’t telling him to leave, since he’s not even a paying customer!”

Because that was another thing; Steve actually didn’t seem to _mind_ Billy. He was rolling his eyes at him, and there was a lot of raised eyebrows, but he was also smiling, and at one point he even laughed so loud that the party heard it all the way from where they were sitting.

“It’s weird”, Lucas said. “It’s like they’re _friends_ or something.”

Dustin looked affronted. “Steve would never be friends with Billy Hargrove! Billy beat his face in!”

It _did_ sound like a stretch. They looked over again. Billy was leaning on the counter and grinning, watching Steve carry a tub of ice-cream from the back.

“Either Steve is being brainwashed, or he’s falling for whatever fake-Billy is saying”, Mike said. “Either way, we can’t involve him now.” He held up a hand to stave off the others’ protests. “He’s _obviously_ been compromised by the enemy!”

Another laugh from Steve, mixing with a few chuckles from Billy, and Dustin straightened up. “That’s it. We have to know for sure.”

He stalked off like a man on a mission, and was halfway across the food court before the others caught up.

When they reached the counter, Billy took a couple of steps to the side to give them room, and Steve smiled and leaned forward on his elbows. “Are you guys back for seconds?”

Dustin’s confidence seemed to falter. “No, we’re out of money, but –“ He glanced not-so-subtly in Billy’s direction. “– we need to _talk_ to you about something, Steve.”

Steve indicated the almost-empty ice-cream shop and distinct lack of a queue behind them. “Well then, talk.”

Dustin frowned, and Mike and Lucas outright scowled at Billy. Who _laughed_.

“Okay, I know when I’m not wanted”, he said and grinned at them. “My lunch break is almost over, anyway.”

Then he reached into a pocket of his shorts and put a couple of bills on the counter. “Hey Harrington, why don’t you treat the nerds to those seconds after all?” He winked at them. “It’s on me.”

He threw a quick smile – not a grin or a smirk; a real _smile_ – at Steve before he _ruffled Max’s hair_ (she squawked, swatting at his hand) and exited the shop, throwing a “See you later, Harrington!” over his shoulder as he left.

The kids, who were shocked into silence at this uncharacteristic display of almost friendly behavior, turned to stare at Steve when he snorted and said, “Yeah, Billy, see you later” with something akin to fondness.

Dustin barely waited until Billy had disappeared around the corner before he rounded on Steve, who put Billy’s cash in the register. “What are you _doing_?”

“What?” Steve asked, bewildered, and gestured around him. “Ice-cream.”

“Why are you being all friendly with Billy Hargrove?” Lucas clarified. “He beat you up.”

Steve rolled his head a little and sighed. “It’s not like that … I mean, he apologized for that.”

“Oh well _that_ makes it alright, then!” Max said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She was apparently not over the hair-ruffling.

Steve started preparing their ice-cream, and gave a one-shouldered shrug. “No it doesn’t, but … He’s not that bad when you get to know him.” He ignored their incredulous expressions and continued, “You guys should give him a chance.”

A couple of minutes later, the party walked out of Scoops after having said goodbye to Steve. They all had ice-cream in their hands – ice-cream that _Billy_ had paid for – and they were quiet until they were out of earshot. When they had rounded a corner, they huddled together.

“It’s worse than we thought”, Mike said. “Steve is _definitely_ compromised.”

Dustin’s face twisted into a mix of agony and despair. “We have to save him!”

“To do that, we have to get Billy un-possessed”, Lucas said. “Or he’ll be able to get even closer to Steve! Take him over, too. Maybe even kill him!”

Max frowned, but didn’t say anything. Will looked nervous.

“We don’t have time to wait for El to get back”, Dustin decided. “If we’re doing this, we have to do it soon. Tonight!”

They looked at each other. The air was heavy with the task they had set for themselves, but no one protested. This was too important.

“Tonight.”

***

That evening, they were outside the public pool when it was closing. They snuck in when the last person got out of the pool, and hid in a bathroom in the men’s changing room until it was quiet outside and they were sure everyone had left. Max had overheard Billy on the phone one time, telling whoever he was talking to that his job included cleaning up and locking up at the end of the day, and that he was usually around for up to half an hour after closing, to get everything done for the next day.

That’s what they were counting on tonight, too.

Dustin carried a backpack with supplies, and they silently passed it around while they were waiting so everyone could grab what they would need.

Then Mike looked at his watch. “Okay, guys. Ready?”

They nodded, and silently snuck out from the bathroom into the – still lit – changing room. Lucas stuck his head out around the corner and peeked outside.

“He’s by the pool”, he whispered to the rest of the party. “He’s got his back turned.”

“This is our chance”, Max said and nodded.

“Go, go, go!” Mike said, and they were off.

Billy was crouching by the side of the pool, reaching down for something, facing away. He didn’t seem to hear them until they were only a couple of steps from him, at which point his back stiffened and he started to turn around. But by then, it was too late.

“ _Now_!” Mike yelled, and they all jumped him at once.

“What the f–“ Billy started, but was cut off when Dustin and Lucas tackled him to the ground. Will grabbed a hold of one of his legs and Mike grabbed the other, while Max pulled at Billy’s hair, making him swear loudly and use his hands to try to loosen her grip instead of fighting off the others. “Max, what the hell?! _Ooof!_ ” (Dustin had managed to accidentally put a knee in his stomach.)

Together, they managed to flip him so he was lying on his front, and while Will and Mike threw themselves over Billy’s legs to keep him from kicking out or getting up, Max pressed his face down onto the tiles. Lucas and Dustin, who had both maneuvered themselves so that they were sitting on Billy’s back, each grabbed at an arm and wrenched it backward and up, so Max could take the roll of duct tape from where it was hanging from her belt and wrap it around Billy’s wrists. Several layers, as hard as she could make it.

This was _Billy_ , after all – they weren’t taking any chances.

Billy was struggling, but to no avail. “What the _actual hell_ , Maxine? What the fuck are you doing? Let me up!”

“This is for your own good”, Max said, grimly.

“For my own– What kind of drugs are you _on_?! Let me go or I’ll _kill_ you, you little shits!”

He was squirming and bucking and almost threw Will off him, and Mike looked around worriedly. “Shut him up, Max, he’s gonna alert someone!”

Max ripped off a piece of the duct tape and handed the rest of the roll to Mike, and then bent down to try to put it over Billy’s mouth. Billy wasn’t having it, though.

“What the _hell_? No!”

He turned his head to get away, but Max pulled on his hair and said in a low voice, “It’s either this or I wrap the tape around your head and then it’ll get stuck in your hair, so just suck it up!”

Billy turned disbelieving eyes on her, and she took the opportunity to slap the tape over his mouth. He shook his head and yelled something, but it was muffled under the tape.

By then, Mike and Will had wrapped the tape around Billy’s ankles, too, so that when they cautiously moved off him, he stayed on the ground. Writhing and squirming, but he couldn’t get up.

“Okay”, Mike said. “Go prepare the sauna.”

Dustin and Will ran off, and left Mike with Max and Lucas to try to figure out how they would be able to move Billy. They tried lifting him, but he was moving too much for them to get a good grip.

“This would have been so much easier if El had been here”, Mike grumbled.

In the end, they got tired of trying to lift him, and simply grabbed him by the feet and started dragging him across the concrete. His yelling, which up until then had sounded furious, changed into a muffled version of _ow ow ow_ , and Max stopped them. “Guys, wait!”

She bent down and looked Billy in the eye. His eyes were wide, with fury and something else, and she crouched in front of him and said, “Stop squirming so much and we’ll carry you instead.”

Even under the tape, the “ _Fuck you_ ” was clearly heard by all.

By then, Dustin and Will had come back, and between the five of them, they managed to wrangle the (still squirming) Billy into the sauna. When he saw the chair they had placed in there, he started struggling for real, but they eventually got him situated in the chair and used the rest of the duct tape to secure him to it. Then they took a couple of steps back and watched him.

His hair was in disarray, and he was only wearing red shorts and a loose white tank top, which had been twisted around him as they had pulled the tape around his chest and the back of the chair. His hands were still taped behind his back, and his ankles were taped together but also to one of the legs of the chair. And from what they could see of his face, he was _furious_.

“Okay”, Dustin said weakly as the the power of Billy’s glare made him step back another step. “Let’s regroup outside, guys.” The room was already uncomfortably hot, so it was a relief to get out of there.

“Now what?” he continued when they had closed the door behind them.

“Now we wait”, Mike said, and Will nodded. “If he’s possessed by the Mind-Flayer or something else like it, it will leave when it becomes too uncomfortable.”

“We have to make the host body uninhabitable”, Lucas said, nodding along.

“One _could_ argue that Billy’s body is _already_ uninhabitable”, Max muttered, but no one was listening.

“We should take turns keeping an eye on him”, Mike said. “Two at the time, ten minutes each.”

***

Forty minutes later, there were still no visible results. No smoke, no seizures; nothing. They had turned the thermostat up as far as it would go, and it was sweltering inside. Billy had stopped moving around so much, and his glare – turned on whoever was in the sauna with him right then – had lessened in intensity. But there were no obvious signs that whatever was possessing him had left him, and the party were getting antsy.

“We should remove the tape”, Lucas said.

“Are you crazy?” Dustin immediately protested. “He’ll kill us!”

“The tape over his _mouth_ , I mean”, Lucas said and rolled his eyes. “We’ll question him, see if he’s still acting weird. Maybe it left, and we didn’t notice?”

There were a few doubtful looks exchanged between them, but they were getting tired of waiting around for something to happen.

All of them went into the sauna this time - safety in numbers, and all that - and Max pulled the tape off Billy’s face. It was easier than expected, because his skin was so sweaty. When it came off, he drew in a deep breath and then coughed.

“What are you playing at?” His voice was rough.

They ignored his question. “Are you feeling … okay?”

Even with a flushed face, flat hair and sweat running down his skin, he managed to nail the _‘Are you kidding me right now?’_ -expression.

“ _No_ ”, he said slowly, as if they were stupid. “I’m dehydrated and getting closer to fucking heat stroke for every minute I’m in here” He looked them in the eye, one after the other. “So let me _the fuck_ out of here!” At this, he yanked at his bound hands, making them jump back in fright, and when he still couldn’t get out, he growled.

The party found it best to leave when he started shouting threats at them – one more graphic than the next.

“Well”, Max said and shrugged in an attempt to seem nonchalant. “That _sounds_ like the real Billy, at least.”

“Which leads us to our next problem”, Mike pointed out. “Even if he’s not possessed anymore – and I’m actually not convinced he’s not – he’s gonna kill us if we let him go now.”

They pondered this in silence. No one seemed eager to volunteer to loosen Billy’s bonds, but on the other hand, if he wasn’t possessed, they couldn’t just leave him in there. _Even_ if it was Billy.

“Hm.”

“We could radio Steve?” Will suggested. “Billy seems to … tolerate him. Steve could do it.”

They started nodding. Steve. Yes. That was a good idea.

Dustin had his radio in his backpack, and they all hoped that Steve would be close to the one they’d gotten him. They’d told him to keep it on and around, just in case, if he wasn’t at work. And it was definitely late enough now that he was off work.

“Steve. Come in, Steve. Steve? Over.”

They tried reaching Steve for a couple of minutes before he finally answered, and when he did he sounded annoyed.

“ _What_ , Dustin?”

“You have to say over. Over.”

The others protested – they had more important things to deal with at the moment than proper radio etiquette – and Max gave him a shove. Dustin looked betrayed as Steve _audibly_ rolled his eyes at them over the radio.

“ _Over_ , Dustin. Whatever. What do you want? I’m busy.”

“Um”, Dustin said. And then, “We kinda have a situation. Over.”

Steve was quiet for a couple of seconds. “What kind of situation?”

“One where we need your help? Ov–”

“Is it, like, related to the …?”

“No! Or, maybe. We don’t know. Look, just come to the pool, okay? Over.”

“The pool?” Steve’s voice was climbing. “I’ve told you guys, you’re not supposed to be at the pool when I’m not there –“

“The _public_ pool, Steve. Over.”

Another pause. When Steve spoke next, his voice was low.

“What is going on?”

“We’ll explain when you get here. Just, please Steve?”

“I’m on my way.”

And then nothing. Dustin stared at the device in his hand as if it had personally offended him. “ _Over and out_ , Steve! Over and _out_!”

***

Steve showed up not ten minutes later, haphazardly parking his car outside the still unlocked gate to the pool area. He was out of the car before the kids had even reached the fence, eyes scanning the surroundings for any potential threat. He was still wearing his Scoops uniform, and was holding his bat in his hands.

When nothing immediately jumped at him, he glared at the party and pointed at them with a finger. “Okay, what the fuck is going on?”

They ushered him toward the sauna while explaining. Only, all of them were talking at the same time, and Steve’s head kept turning and he was looking more and more confused. (Also, as soon as they mentioned Billy’s name, more and more _alarmed_.)

Lucas finished just as they got to the sauna; “So now we’re not sure if he’s actually possessed, and if we let him go he’s gonna kill us.”

“Yeah”, Mike piped in, “and you seem to know him a little now so maybe you can tell if he’s being himself or not.”

Steve didn’t reply, because at that point he spotted Billy through the little glass window in the door. He dropped the bat, pushed the kids aside and yanked the door open, not seeming to noticing the wall of hot air that made the rest of them take a step back.

“Billy! Billy, baby, are you alright?”

The party traded glances. ‘Baby’?

Peering into the sauna, they saw Steve fall to his knees by the chair and reach up with a hand to stroke Billy’s face. Billy looked up at him, blearily, and licked his lips before speaking.

“Steve?”

Steve had started tugging at the tape holding him to the chair, and only glanced up for a second. “Yeah?”

“I’m gonna kill those kids.”

Steve nodded and continued tugging. “Okay, baby.”

At this, the party found it best to vacate the area. It seemed they had somehow completely misunderstood the situation.

***

It turned out that it wasn’t really Billy they’d needed to worry about, but Steve. Billy was unsteady on his feet, and Steve had to help him into the showers once he’d gotten most of the tape off (some pieces were still stuck to his legs and wrists). Steve was apparently capable of multi-tasking, though; while he walked (with Billy's arm around his shoulder, stumbling along) he was alternating between chewing them out and making sure Billy was doing okay.

“I can’t believe you would do this! (Are you doing okay, baby?) You could have fucking killed him! People _die_ from heat stroke you know! (Watch your step.) You’re supposed to be in a sauna for like ten minutes – twenty, tops! (Hang on, let me get the … there we go.) Why the _hell_ would you think he was even possessed in the first place!?”

Properly chastised, they squirmed under Steve’s angry look. Will, surprisingly, was the one who answered.

“He was being … nice.”

Steve actually stopped to gape at them, and Billy – who was leaning heavily on him – blinked slowly.

“He was being _nice_?” Steve repeated, eyebrows climbing. “ _Wow_. You guys, you … Just wow.” His voice was dripping with disappointment and disbelief, which was somehow worse than the yelling.

Okay, so in retrospect, maybe this hadn’t been their brightest plan. A couple of minutes later, they were gathered outside the showers, sitting or standing with their backs to the wall and listening to Steve and Billy talk while Steve tried to cool Billy down under the spray.

“I was just doing what you said.”

“I know, baby, I’m sorry. Here, drink some more water please.”

“You said to be nice to them.”

“I know. Come on, one more sip.”

“I tried! I even made small-talk.”

“I know.”

“I _hate_ small-talk.”

“Mm-hmm. Lift your arms a bit.”

“ _I bought them ice-cream!_ ”

“And I’m so proud of you, babe.”

A pause.

“I'm sorry, Billy. I should have known something was wrong when you were late picking me up. I should have come looking for you.”

“Not your fault.”

 Another pause.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hot. And pissed off.”

“Like usual, then.”

“Mmm.”

Yet another pause.

“Hey Billy, are you really okay? Or do I need to take you to the hospital?”

“Mmm, yeah.”

“ _Yeah_?!”

“I mean, _yeah_ I’m okay. _No_ , no hospital.”

“You sure, baby?”

“Yeah, I'll be okay … _sweetheart_.”

A pause, which stretched into more than a pause. Dustin peered around the corner to see what was going on, and paled. Mike mouthed ‘what?’, and went to look, too. Max followed.

Billy and Steve were in the showers with the water running over both of them – no steam, so it was probably lukewarm at best. Billy was sitting on the floor, leaning his back against the tiles, and Steve was on his knees in front of him. One of Steve’s hands was cradling Billy’s face; Billy’s hand was at the back of Steve’s neck.

And they were _kissing_.

“Gross”, Mike mumbled, but unfortunately Steve heard him and whipped his head around to fix him with a _look_.

“Oh _really_ , Mike? Really? What’s _gross_ is that you almost killed my fucking boyfriend because he was trying to be nice to you guys!” He stood up and walked a couple of steps toward them, pointing angrily. “You’re always complaining that he’s acting like an asshole –“

He ignored the indignant “Hey!” from Billy.

“– and then when he’s trying to _stop_ being an asshole, you think he’s being possessed and try to _cook_ him!”

“ _Okay_!” Max said and held up her hands. “We get it, we messed up.” She glanced at Billy, who hadn’t moved from the shower, and added in a lower voice, “Big time. _But_ , are we not going to talk about the fact that you’re apparently _boyfriends_ now?”

“I don’t know”, Billy drawled from his spot on the floor, looking up at them with a calculating look in his eyes. “How about we talk about why you’d think I was possessed in the first place. Or maybe you can explain to me what the hell a mind flayer is? Or maybe why you kept referring to ‘the time when Will was possessed’?”

At their stunned faces, he smiled (it didn’t reach his eyes). “Pro tip; just because you _gag_ someone, it doesn’t mean that they can’t _hear_ you. I heard you through the door.”

No one spoke for a minute. A _long_ minute. Then Max threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine! We won’t tell if you won’t.”

She narrowed her eyes and glared at Billy, who glared right back with the exact same expression. In that moment, they could have been siblings for real.

“Deal.”

“Okay. Now what?” Lucas asked.

Steve returned to Billy’s side and reached down to help him to his feet. “Now I’m taking my _boyfriend_ home, to make sure that he’s okay after the fucking dangerous stunt you guys pulled.” He glared at them. “We are going to have a long talk about this later –“

(At this, Billy nudged his side and leveled him with a look. “Oh you can bet your ass we will, sweetheart.” Steve grimaced.)

“– but not today. Now, you’re all going home. And you will _not_ be bothering Billy again, because I can personally guarantee you he is not possessed and if you do anything like this again without talking to me, I’ll tell Hopper.” He glanced over at Billy. “And none of you will say anything about this to anyone. Or I’ll kick your asses.”

Lucas leaned over and whispered in Max’s ear, “This is so weird. Usually Billy is the one doing the threatening.”

Max just nodded.

Meanwhile, Billy was smirking up at his … boyfriend? … and said, “Mmm, you’re so hot when you take charge like that.”

Steve snorted and raised an eyebrow. “Really? You wanna discuss who’s _hot_ right now, when you’re basically medium-well?” But he leaned over and placed a small kiss on Billy’s nose.

“This is _so weird_ ”, Mike hissed. “Are we sure they’re not _both_ possessed?”

Dustin shook his head and groaned when Billy grinned and gave Steve a real kiss. On the _mouth_. _Right in front of them._ “No. But that would certainly have been preferable to this.”

Billy flipped him off without even looking up.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I got this amusing mental image of the Party basically trying to exorcise a non-possessed (but pissed off) Billy, and it was such a lovely mental image that I had to write it.
> 
> It has been read through by yours truly exactly ONCE since I finished it, and that was while I was being tired, so do not expect a masterpiece here.


End file.
